My Bicycle Life: Greetings from Rapid City, SD

Hi, All,

We're enjoying our latest off-day after a five-day, 450-mile ride from Billings, Montana. The weather has continued to be excellent, with temperatures consistently cooler than when I rode this same ride in '06. The winds have also been generally favorable, and when they have turned against us, they haven't been strong enough to seriously deter our progress. Wind will be the biggest factor on the next leg of our journey, as we cross South Dakota, but so far so good. And meanwhile the forecast is calling for daily highs in the high-80s, a world of difference from the last time I was in Rapid City, when the temperature hit 116, and the next day the group rode 100 miles through the Badlands with the temperature reaching 111 degrees.

In regard to Gabe, he's doing much better. There's been a marked improvement this week in his attitude toward the ride and toward CharLlton, our ride director. I was particularly impressed with his accomplishment on the day that we rode between Sheridan and Gillette, Wyoming. It was a hilly ride and 112 miles, the longest day mileage-wise of the whole trip. The group woke at first light - 4:30 a.m. Tents had to be broken town, all gear stowed in the truck, and breakfast eaten in order to leave at 5:30. Gabe managed this, rising and readying himself without complaint; and he made it to Gillette eleven hours later ahead of many other riders and with a smile on his face. He's seemingly enjoying the ride more, radiates pride in his accomplishments, and speaks confidently of the challenges ahead. As with all of us, Gabe is dealing with various aches and discomforts, but he's coping well and has been earnest and forthright in asking Charlton and fellow riders for advice.

The past five days have been really enjoyable. The miles we've covered have been extreme because we're traveling through remote areas: between Sheridan and Gillette, for instance, in the course of 112 miles, we passed through only one town - Clearmont, Wyoming, population 115. But at the same time, we've been soaking in the Western scenery and having fun in the towns where we've stayed, getting a sense of the local culture and some strong doses of Americana. In Billings, Montana, Gabe and I attended a minor league baseball game - the Billings Mustangs versus the Missoula Osprey. Gabe bought a Mustangs cap and also was doused on the hot afternoon by the water-gun wielding Mustangs mascot. The game was shortened when a violent storm blew in, ending the game in the eighth inning due to the strong wind gusts, rain, and lightning. Gabe and I ducked into a Perkins restaurant across the street from the stadium, and by the time we'd finished dinner, the storm had passed and the sun was shining.

The Billings Mustang ...

... squirting Gabe

The next day, July 4, we had a very short easy ride - 55 miles from Billings to Hardin, MT, on the border of the Crow Indian Reservation. A tailwind sped us along, and all the riders were in by noon. Then many of us spent the afternoon at the Fourth of July rodeo at the Big Horn County Fairgrounds. It was the first rodeo I'd ever attended, and I found it fascinating to wander around, people- and animal watching, and seeing the action up close, especially the men's bronco riding and women's barrel riding competitions. Two aspects of the rodeo particularly heartened me. I loved the sense of community and especially the comfortable coexistence between the local whites and Native Americans. Everyone enjoyed the Indian relay race; locals had specifically told us not to miss it, saying it was the most exciting event of the day. All of the participants of the three-lap race were Native Americans. There were five teams in color-coded clothing, and each team had one rider who raced his horse bareback around the outside track and then twice, after each lap, had to switch horses, jumping off one horse and onto another.

Indian relay race

Bronco riding

Pole bending competition (like slalom racing, but with horses)

Pre-teen steer riding

The other wonderful aspect of the rodeo was how family-friendly and inclusive it was. Everyone was able to participate, from the littlest children: there was one race for toddlers under a year and a half. Older children, in various age groups, participated in three-legged races, races while balancing eggs on spoons, etc. Pre-teen boys risked injury riding steers (rather than bulls); pre-teen girls competed in goat-roping (instead of calf-roping), and there was a "sweethearts race" in which women rode straight for 100 years or so, then had to turn 180-degrees whiile their male partner jumped on and held on to her as they raced back to the finish. It was all a lot of fun to watch, and a really rich, colorful scene. Afterward I stayed up, while other riders had turned in, to watch the sunset (we really go to sleep early!) and then the fireworks several miles away but visible across the wheat fields.

One of the youngest riders

Mother and contestant from the toddler race ...

Sunset in Hardin, MT

Tuesday, July 5, we rode 85 miles from Hardin, MT, to Sheridan, WY. The first miles took us through the Crow Indian Reservation and past the Little Bighorn Battlefield (site of Custer's last stand) which I had visited in 2006, then following the Little Bighorn River, with views of the Bighorn Mountains in the distance. Having skipped the batlefield side-trip, I arrived at the Sheridan KOA by 1:00 p.m. and spent the afternoon soaking in the pool and conserving my energy for the long ride to Gillette. All of this section of Montana and Wyoming was predominantly grassland with rolling hills - cattle country (also lots of deer, antelope, and mosquiotes). It was much greener and wetter than it had been in '06 thanks to the late spring and abundant rain. Nearing Gillette, though, the predominant industry is coal production. We passed a large coal mine on the way into town - a large hole on the ground torn open by huge bulldozers and the ore removed in huge Tonka-like trucks. Then the next night in Newcastle, WY, the town was also dominated by energy: there was a large oil refinery, and wee lost sleep because we were camped near the railroad tracks, where long freight trains consisting entirely of coal cars passed by, horns blaring, all night long, at times in intervals of only a few minutes. The ride to Newcastle was also 85 miles and much flatter than the hilly ride from Sheridan to Gillette. En route I saw more antelope and a prairie dog town, but overall I rode fast, finishing just after noon, before the day grew too hot and the strong sidewinds started gusting.

Quiet roads between Billings and Hardin ...

Between Hardin and Sheridan ...

Outside of Sheridan WY ...

And between Sheridan and Gillette.

My fast ride to Newcastle also gave me some extra energy for yesterday's ride, which in terms of scenery was the most spectacular and, because I opted to ride some extra miles, was also the hardest. We began the day climbing across the state line to South Dakota and into the Black Hills National Forest. The road then grew steeper, more winding and narrow as we began traversing the Black Hills. The colors were dazzling - bright green grassland, dark-trunked firs, and the large, bulbous rock formations beneath a cloudless blue sky. Our lunch stop was in the town of Custer, which is gaudily commercialized, including a Flintstones-themed amusement park and campground and many, many curio shops; but then we rode through Custer State Park, which was comparatively pristine. Some riders saw bighorn sheep, and Rich, our mechanic, saw a bison; I wasn't quite as lucky, but there again were lots of deer and antelope. It was such a perfect day for riding that I asked permission from Charlton to go off-route to see more of the Black Hills.

Black Hills

Antelope

The area is so beautiful that I didn't want to merely repeat the route I'd traveled in '06; so instead of exiting the park, heading east, I cut north on Iron Mountain Road and headed for Mt. Rushmore. A fellow rider, Bernie Lapera of Carbondale, PA, had the same idea; we met up along the way and rode the rest of the day together. It was a strenuous trip, with miles and miles of climbing - a scenic byway, off-limits to commercial traffic as well as trailers and RVs because of the road's narrowness and the low clearance of its three tunnels - holes blasted through the granite. Along the way we could see Mt. Rushmore in the distance, our first view coming when we were ten miles away. We reached the summit of Iron Mountain by climbing a long series of switchbacks, then descended before having to climb the two-mile, ten-percent grade to reach the monument. The scenery and the beauty of the day made, as Bernie said, "every pedal stroke worth it.". Bernie declared it the greatest day he'd ever spent on a bicycle, despite the tough final 24 miles on a four-lane highway to reach Rapid City, and I concurred that it was a wonderful ride. In all I rode 103 miles, adding 22 to the main route. It was a big challenge that left me exhausted by the end, but I have today to rest up and recover before the 100-mile ride through the Badlands tomorrow.